Redefining Capital For Good: Katie Macc On What It Means To Lead In Impact

Forbes

28-05-2025

Katie Macc, CEO of the Sorenson Impact Institute, was honored by Utah Business as one of '30 Women ... More to Watch' in 2025.
As CEO of Sorenson Impact Institute, Katie Macc draws on her experience in multiple finance sectors, including microfinance, fintech, and impact investing across the globe. These perspectives help shape how she and her colleagues at the Institute approach their multidisciplinary work in impact investing.
'The biggest difference impact investing has made, I believe, is in changing hearts and minds. Most of us in finance and business weren't taught that there is another way—a better way—to do business, to do good, and to build a world in which we all want to live. Impact investing has consistently demonstrated the ability to do all of those things,' says Macc, who was recently honored by Utah Business as one of 30 Women to Watch.
At the Institute, Macc and her colleagues focus their work with partners around the world on moving capital toward solutions to some of our biggest challenges. She points to the Institute's work and connections with public and private organizations as key reasons for Utah's status as an innovator in the impact field. By collaborating with students, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and other organizations, the Institute contributes to the growth of the impact investing sector and its contributions to a better future.
Macc sees promise to expand the impact investing field by deepening its role in public markets, creating new opportunities for financial performance and stakeholder impact. To help drive this growth, the Institute is currently working on a number of strategic projects, including a multi-year Nature-based Solutions (NbS) initiative. 'There's a real opportunity in investing in nature,' she says. 'The financing gap in that sector is massive, and we believe it's a sector ripe for innovative financing solutions.'
In this Q&A, Macc discusses these initiatives and other opportunities she sees for the Sorenson Impact Institute and the impact investing sector as a whole.
You've been honored by Utah Business as one of '30 Women to Watch' in 2025. What does this accomplishment mean to you?
Receiving this honor is, in many ways, reflective of the key role that impact investing has had in the state of Utah. It's true, Utah is not necessarily at the top of everyone's list as a hub for impact investing—until you dig a little deeper. The state's economic success and business-friendly environment for entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes are relatively well-known. But the reality is the state has been at the forefront of impact investing in a number of ways—from public-private partnerships that were well ahead of the curve to new impact investing strategies for family offices and foundations to innovative approaches in philanthropy. None of this is to mention the huge innovations at the University of Utah, a place where aspirations for unsurpassed societal impact drive the entire campus. Our Institute began here more than 13 years ago and is now in a first-of-its-kind impact ecosystem that houses more than 750 students along with our headquarters. We were founded by Utah native and pioneer in impact, Jim Sorenson. Uniquely, and we think importantly, all of this is happening at a public university.
Receiving this honor acknowledges the pivotal role that all of these institutions across public and private sectors have had in growing Utah's leadership in impact investing. It's also an opportunity to introduce impact investing to even more people in Utah. I suspect many of the people who read Utah Business or attend the awards luncheon will be introduced to impact investing for the first time. I'm excited to represent the industry and the Institute in that room.
Where do you see the impact field making the biggest difference today?
The growth of impact investing has been impressive since its inception in the early 2000s. Once a somewhat radical idea of leveraging capital for good, the field has now influenced the direction of capital, policy, and culture across all sectors worldwide. Currently, the field represents a market of more than $1 trillion. While that's a big number, the biggest difference impact investing has made, I believe, is in changing hearts and minds. Most of us in finance and business weren't taught that there is another way—a better way—to do business, to do good, and to build a world in which we all want to live. Impact investing has consistently demonstrated the ability to do all of those things.
Moreover, impact investing catalyzes solutions to some of our most pressing challenges on a global scale. Those are big statements and are often received with even bigger skepticism. But where impact really stands out is in its accountability. We have the data because we measure and report the returns—both financial and social/environmental. There is still enormous work to be done, and we haven't reached the necessary scale to which we aspire, but the foundation and the measurable outcomes are there for all to see. We're growing, and I believe that growth is only going to escalate.
What initiatives and research projects is the Institute working on right now that you expect will help build the market for impact?
We are currently in the very early stages of several exciting new multi-year initiatives in spaces we find critical for exploration and direction. One that is particularly exciting for me is a large-scale initiative focused on Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Under this initiative, we are leveraging our long-standing expertise in impact finance with Janis Dubno and her team, along with the inclusion of world-renowned ecologist and National Geographic Explorer Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, who is now a Senior Fellow in Residence at the Institute.
As part of our NbS initiative, we are working on a series of applied research projects and initiatives seeking to more fully harness the power of nature to address pressing environmental and societal challenges. While there are a few proven financial models for NbS, there are still large gaps to meet global targets, presenting a significant opportunity for investors to generate financial returns as well as measurable environmental and social impact. We're talking with potential funders and collaborators now on these projects.
What do you see as the most significant opportunities right now for impact investing to grow?
From how and when we talk about impact investing to where we send our capital, I see several strategies to scale the field:
How can the impact investing ecosystem continue to build momentum amid shifting public policy and funding changes/challenges?
While we aren't a policy shop at the Institute, we recognize the essential role that the public sector can play in our work and our mission. There are some headwinds in this moment for impact investing that I don't want to minimize, but I believe there's a huge opportunity for the field to grow. Impact investors and social entrepreneurs aren't simply do-gooders who act on a moral compulsion to do the right thing; we invest in, build, and amplify practical and scalable solutions to the world's greatest challenges by leveraging capital as a force to drive positive change. Doing that at scale requires partnerships at all levels and across sectors. Political conditions change—sometimes rapidly—not just here in the United States but across the world. We stay the course and identify areas where we can work together to achieve our mission. In other words, some doors may close while others open.
Right now, there are numerous areas of overlap and bipartisan support in which we can and are working together toward solutions. One example is the ownership economy, which is creating the conditions by which more people in this country can generate wealth through areas like home ownership and employee ownership. The Sorenson Group, under Jim Sorenson's leadership, is heavily involved in this national effort, and we work in support of and in partnership with those goals.
Where do you find new ideas or inspiration for your work? What have you learned recently that has stuck with you?
I recently listened to the in-depth Acquired Podcast about the Rolex company, and everyone I've met with since is tired of hearing me talk about it. While it's true that I now want to purchase a Rolex watch, what has lingered in my mind since that podcast has been more about the structure of the company than the watches themselves. The legal and financial structures of the company allowed the executives to make decisions that I wish all company leadership could/would make. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, acquired that freedom for the company in 1960 when he gave the shares of the company to a private trust. For 65 years, the company has enjoyed the ability to make truly independent decisions, free from short-term shareholder interest, investor demands, or quarterly earnings calls.
I know that not all companies can follow in Rolex's or Patagonia's footsteps directly, but the Rolex story reminded me how important it is for entrepreneurs to choose the right legal and financial structures to facilitate their objectives. Whether their goals are long-term sustainability, stable job creation, social impact, returns to the community, or innovation within the company, it's critical that founders make sure their legal structure and financing will permit them to make the decisions they need to make in order to achieve them.
Connect with Katie Macc on LinkedIn.